Musician Gracie Abrams wore a pair of blue and white Naomh Conaill GAA club shorts during a photoshoot for Rolling Stone magazine, according to coverage by the Irish Independent and Donegal Daily. The athletic apparel, originating from the Glenties club in County Donegal, Ireland, was styled by Spencer Singer and photographed by Laura Jane Coulson for Abrams’s cover feature, which explores her childhood, songwriting, and relationship with Irish actor Paul Mescal.
The Origins of the Donegal Shorts Fashion Moment
According to Donegal Daily, the GAA shorts reached Abrams through a chain of events connected to Paul Mescal. Micheál Brennan, a local man known on Instagram as @DonegalDaddy, gifted the Naomh Conaill gear to Mescal in 2021 while the actor worked in southwest Donegal filming the drama God’s Creatures alongside Emily Watson. Brennan stated that he provided the jersey and shorts as a welcome gift to thank the actor for filming in the community.
Mescal subsequently brought international attention to the local sports brand when he was photographed wearing the club shorts on the streets of Melbourne, Australia, in January 2022, as reported by Donegal Daily. The actor also signed a Donegal jersey and a pair of O’Neill’s shorts for a local fundraising raffle organized by the Brew in Thru coffee van to help replace a flood-damaged footbridge in Carrick.
Relationship Timeline and Public Appearances
Abrams and Mescal have maintained a low-profile romance since dating speculation began in June 2024, according to a detailed timeline by Harper’s Bazaar. Fans initially fueled dating rumors following the release of Abrams’s second studio album, The Secret of Us, noting lyrics in the track “Normal Thing” that reference heartbreak over an actor and make nods to Mescal’s breakout role in Hulu’s Normal People.
The couple was first spotted together by TMZ on a restaurant date in London on June 30, 2024. Later that summer, The Daily Mail published photographs of the pair shopping in Mayfair and walking hand-in-hand in London. In October 2024, Mescal was spotted in the VIP tent at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Miami watching Abrams open the show, followed by public sightings of the couple in New York City later that month.